A poacher who took a hawk to the Bolton Abbey estate has been sentence for animal cruelty.
Michael Watt, 37, from Preston, was found with a live rabbit covered in blood and trapped in a net trap, which he’d dumped in the back of his van (pictured by police bodycam here).
Police also found a Harris hawk, ferrets, hunting traps and falconry equipment in Watt’s vehicle when it was stopped and searched in Threshfield last October.
He had been reported to police for poaching on the Bolton Abbey estate, which he had been told to leave, and several other areas of Craven in the days prior.
Specialist officers from North Yorkshire’s Rural Task Force led an investigation that saw Watt charged with two counts of poaching, causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and obstructing the police.
He pleaded guilty and was given a ten-year criminal behaviour order and made to pay almost £1,000 in fines, costs and other charges at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court (Friday).
The criminal behaviour order, which North Yorkshire Police is increasingly using on poachers, bans Watt from keeping birds of prey or ferrets, places restrictions on hunting and also has conditions that prevent him entering land. The conditions are designed to prevent poaching and animal cruelty.
All items linked to poaching have been seized and the animals in his possession were taken to animal rescue specialists so they could be properly cared for.
After the hearing, Rural Taskforce PCSO Mark Allison who led the investigation said: “This was a highly unusual poaching case with Watt possessing a Harris hawk, which are exceptional hunters.
“Poaching often involves other offences including aggressive behaviour, illegally entering land, the criminal damage that entails and animal cruelty.
“It’s also one of the areas our Rural Taskforce specialise in, which makes it much harder for poachers and other criminals to operate in North Yorkshire, and ensures those who do are dealt with decisively.”
